Former LMPD detective who killed Breonna Taylor keeps police certification, can continue working as officer

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Former Louisville Metro Police Detective Myles Cosgrove, who was fired for violating the department's use of force policy when he fatally shot Breonna Taylor, will be allowed to keep his police certification.

The Kentucky Law Enforcement Council (KLEC) voted Thursday not to revoke Cosgrove's certification, meaning he is eligible to work for another police department in the commonwealth.

KLEC certification is required for anyone to work as a sworn officer in Kentucky. State law requires police agencies to report terminations to KLEC for misconduct and officers who resign or retire in the middle of an investigation in which the subject matter includes a fireable offense.

A committee discussed the Cosgrove case in closed session Wednesday, and the full law enforcement council voted in his favor without discussion at a meeting Thursday.

Attorney Scott Miller, who represents Cosgrove, said "it's the right decision" and backs up his argument that Cosgrove and other officers involved in the raid had to make split-second decisions.

"This council, that is comprised of police officers across the state of Kentucky and civilians as well, looked at it and they also felt like — at least to some extent — that it did not necessarily violate any of the norms that police officers face on a regular basis," he said in an interview.

But attorney Sam Aguiar, who represented Taylor's family, said that given Cosgrove's actions, "it's disturbing that his risk profile doesn't disqualify him from being a cop.

"The thought of him returning to the streets is scary."

Cosgrove is currently appealing his termination from LMPD, filing a lawsuit in April claiming, in part, his use of force was justified.

Asked if Cosgrove wants to work as a police officer again, Miller said "that's a question for Myles, but I think, at this point, it's more about the principle of the matter and ensuring that other officers out there know what the expectations are for them in these circumstances."

Former LMPD Chief Yvette Gentry fired Cosgrove on Jan. 5, 2021, for failing to properly "identify a target," when he opened fire after entering Taylor's home — violating the department's use of force policy — and for failing to use a body camera.

The FBI determined Cosgrove fired the shot that killed Taylor.

In December, the seven-member Louisville Metro Police Merit Board voted 5-2 to uphold the firing after hearing four days of testimony and deliberating for more than three hours.

Gentry testified that in three different interviews with investigators, Cosgrove could not articulate a reason for the number of shots fired or justify that he saw a threat where deadly force was necessary, given he never saw a gun, heard a shot and only saw a shadowy figure.

"You fire 16 rounds, and they go in three different directions, and you say you don't hear and you're not seeing" a specific threat, Gentry told the merit board. "I didn't have the confidence" to keep him.

In an interview Thursday, Aguiar said that by Cosgrove's own admission, "he couldn't hear anything, couldn't see clearly and couldn't accurately perceive what was going on when he emptied his clip indiscriminately throughout an entire apartment. He shot at Breonna Taylor repeatedly even after she'd collapsed to the ground."

In his lawsuit, Cosgrove's attorneys described the merit board's decision as "arbitrary and unlawful" and accused the board of exceeding its authority and violating his due process rights.

Cosgrove's attorneys are asking a judge to reverse the merit board's decision and reinstate him, with back pay and benefits.

The case is pending in Jefferson Circuit Court. 

Miller, Cosgrove's attorney, has said that the former detective saw a muzzle flash, former Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly fall to the ground and a figure in the hallway.

"He reasonably believed there was a threat," Miller said at the time. "He reasonably believed there was a target."

Kenneth Walker, Taylor's boyfriend, fired a shot at police, hitting Mattingly. Walker said he believed police were intruders breaking into the apartment before 1 a.m. on March 13, 2020.

Police shot and killed Taylor, 26, in the hallway of her apartment during an undercover raid on her home on Springfield Drive as part of a series of raids elsewhere that targeted narcotics trafficking.

No drugs or money were found in her home.

Mattingly shot six times, toward the target he identified. He resigned from the department.

The U.S. Department of Justice charged four former Louisville police officers with federal crimes in connection with the fatal raid, including allegations that officers created a false affidavit to support a search warrant for Taylor's home.

But Mattingly and Cosgrove were not charged because they didn't know about the false information in the search warrant, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in announcing the charges in August.

And Attorney General Daniel Cameron previously declined to press charges against Mattingly and Cosgrove, saying they were "justified" in returning a shot fired by Walker.

Cosgrove testified that he regrets fatally shooting Taylor but knew "without a doubt" that his and Mattingly's lives were in danger if he didn't return a gunshot coming from "a shadowy figure" in the apartment.

"I did what I thought was right that evening," Cosgrove told the merit board. "I was addressing the deadly threat that was in front of me."

Asked by his attorney if he regretted Taylor being shot and killed, Cosgrove took a long pause:

"Of course I do," he told the board. "It's horrible. It's made me question faith. It's powerful to have taken a life and to have to live with that. I can't explain to you how regretful and how much grief that has caused me."

On Thursday, Miller reiterated that Taylor's death was a tragedy, but that "we can say that that's a tragedy and that Myles Cosgrove acted consistent with police practices in Kentucky at the same time."

Also on Thursday, KLEC voted to revoke the certification of former Louisville Metro Police detective Christopher Palombi, who was accused of threatening to kill other officers.

The certification of Todd Walls, a former Jefferson County Sheriff's deputy who has been the subject of multiple WDRB investigations, was also considered by KLEC. The council revoked Walls license earlier this year but Walls is appealing that decision. KLEC voted Thursday to also go through a hearing process to revoke Walls' license in case a court rules against the council. Walls was previously convicted of a sex crime with a minor but had the record expunged. His appeal claims his KLEC license should not have been revoked because the sex crime record no longer exists after expungement.

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